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Serena Williams just added another title to her long list of wins. She’s now making history as the first athlete to appear on Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women List in America. You may have heard about the list before — Kylie Jenner was named on the list last year, causing many to question Forbes’ definition of “self-made.” This year, Williams is on the list after securing multiple partnerships, investing in tech companies, starting her own venture capital firm and joining the board of some growing startup companies. Williams announced her VC firm Serena Ventures in April, quietly funding over 30 companies led by women and underrepresented groups since 2014. The companies range across the beauty, food, and retail industries. “I launched Serena Ventures with the mission of giving opportunities to founders across an array of industries,” Williams said in an Instagram post. “Serena Ventures invests in companies that embrace diverse leadership, individual empowerment, creativity and...
Jun 4, 2019
When Kevin Durant isn’t sinking threes on the court, he’s building out his portfolio with some lucrative investments, partnerships, and sponsorships. Now, the NBA player is adding “designer” to his resumé with his new investments in the headphone company, Master & Dynamic, according to The Verge. Master & Dynamic adds to Durant’s portfolio that already includes life insurance startup, Ethos, which is backed by celebrities like Will Smith, plus Robert Downey Jr. and Jay-Z’s, Roc Nation. Durant has also invested in Acorns, Postmates, and The Players’ Tribune . Durant told the Verge that his investment in Master & Dynamic comes from his love of music. “Music is such a huge part of my life,” Durant said to The Verge. “That their products have become an important part of my day-to-day, and I’m looking forward to some amazing collaboration between our teams.” Although the partnership is new, the company has already worked with his mother, Wanda Durant, for a feature on their website about...
May 17, 2019
Rick Fox has made a name for himself on and off the court with investments in esports. However, the former NBA superstar could soon be calling it quits with one of his most successful ventures — Team Echo Fox — if one particular investor does not leave the company. A week ago, Fox announced that he would be stepping away from Team Echo Fox, an esports company he helped create, over a shareholder using racist language to describe Jace Hall, the company’s CEO. The news was first reported by gaming site Dexerto . According to Dexerto, racist language being used towards people at Echo Fox is a common theme, but one that Fox could not ignore: “Most shareholders have tried to ignore this in the hope it goes away and this has forced Rick’s hand to leave. He obviously isn’t going to stand for that and was hoping the matter would be addressed on a shareholder level rather than just swept under the carpet.” -Dexerto In a recent interview with TMZ, Fox explained that although he loves what...
May 6, 2019
Modern life insurance startup Ethos recently announced they’ve raised $35 million in a Series B round of funding. The company’s method of providing online and mobile sales channels provided by the Lincoln, Neb.-based life insurance company, Assurity Life, seems to be working as this amount has significantly increased since their Series A round of $11.5 million. The previous round came from Will Smith’s Smith Family Circle ; Robert Downey Jr.’s Downey Ventures ; Kevin Durant’s Durant Company ; Arrive, a subsidiary of Jay Z’s Roc Nation ; and leading Silicon Valley investment firm Sequoia Capital. The new investment from Google Ventures (GV) and returning investors, Sequoia Capital and Arrive, was led by Accel Partners. Accel’s Nate Niparko will join the Ethos board of directors and GV General Partner, Tyson Clark, will join as an advisor. The non-commission-based insurance company prides itself on being a more equitable provider by offering term life insurance that only requires...
Oct 30, 2018
From basketball courts to football stadiums, more black athletes are beginning to invest in tech startups around the country and seeing huge returns while doing it. Stars like Kevin Durant and Steph Curry are seeing wins on and off the court from their recent investments. Here’s a look at some current and former black athletes making names for themselves in the startup world: Kevin Durant: Kevin Durant has built a name for himself in Silicon Valley with his startup Durant Company, which invests in tech companies. Durant has most recently invested in the Culture fund , which is focused on diversifying the tech industry. The NBA-star says his mentors Ron Conway (an early-stage Google and PayPal investor), and Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz have had a huge influence on his business ventures. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz launched the Culture Fund and has since gained the attention of other investors like actor Will Smith and Essence Ventures CEO Richelieu...
Oct 3, 2018
Midterm elections are right around the corner and one former NFL player wants to make sure people are informed about politicians and how they vote. Former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Walter Powell is launching PolitiScope, an app that gives users “player profiles” of Congressional members and other federal politicians. The app details politicians’ votes on legislation, upcoming bills and contact information. In December, Powell and his co-founder Jackson White developed an idea for the app and created a prototype within three months. PolitiScope users can also follow politicians, bills and other legislation to see how they are developing across the country. Users receive push notifications on news related to the politicians they follow and can register to vote through the app. PolticiScope’s interface automatically pulls from government-accredited websites to keep information on the app up-to-date. From there, a team of lawyers puts the information into layman’s terms to ensure that...
Sep 21, 2018